


Sugar and Honey

by SpookyFalcon64



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Alien Species, Alternate Dimensions, Asexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Crows, Demisexual Character, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay, High School, Lesbian Character, Non-binary character, Portals, Villains, War, magical dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22167619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyFalcon64/pseuds/SpookyFalcon64
Summary: A teenage girl in an alternate, non-human universe has the same dream every night about a crow. She has to work with her enemy to discover the meaning of the dream. Together the two girls discover a portal to an alternate dimension where a war has taken place.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting anything on here so I don't know entirely what I'm doing. I've been working on this story for a while so I hope ya'll enjoy the first chapter!

Chapter One

A crow swooped low through the trees, wings barely skimming the leaves and making them shake and bounce. Sunlight flashed off of its sleek black feathers and temporarily blinded the pale blue girl standing on the forest floor. She was watching the bird. The crow circled a tree and flew past the girl, its wings beat her on the head, ruffling her hair. She fell to the ground and watched as the crow dove over her again and circled around the same tree. For some reason, the girl felt like the crow was beckoning her. Like it wanted her to follow.  
The girl got back to her feet and took a step toward the crow. Immediately, the crow took off and darted through the trees following a nearly straight path, only swerving to avoid trees. All the girl could see of the crow were the flashes of its feathers and the disturbed leaves. She hurried to catch up, slipping on leaves and tripping over sticks.  
“Slow down!” she called out to the crow.  
A caw in the distance responded, sounding too far away.  
The girl could no longer see or hear the bird. Besides the pounding of her feet on the ground, the forest was silent. She didn’t even know if she was still following the same path as the crow anymore. With all the trees she could have easily gotten turned around.  
“Where are you?” She didn’t expect the crow to answer, but she didn’t know what else to do. The crow had disappeared and she was lost in the forest.  
Another caw came again, but this time it was closer. A flash of darkness came through the leaves and landed on the branch of a tree right in front of her. The crow cawed loudly and then took off again.  
The girl groaned in frustration and continued chasing after it. The trees were beginning to thin and more sunlight was shining through. Now the crow was a much easier target to follow.  
At this point though, the girl was tiring. Her legs burned and her chest was getting more tight with every breath. Sweat trickled down her neck and forehead. She wiped it out of her eyes so she wouldn’t lose sight of the crow again.  
At first the girl thought she must be about to pass out. All around her the shadows were growing. Darkness was quickly falling over the trees. When she looked up the sun was no longer high in the sky. It was dipping below the horizon at an abnormal rate. Stars were already shimmering in the sky.  
She looked down again and worried that she’d lost the crow again until she realized she’d reached the edge of the forest. The crow was already flying down the hill and over the town, heading right for the school. From where she was standing the crow was a tiny black speck, barely visible in the increasing darkness. When it landed on the roof of the school, it almost felt as if the crow was staring right at her.  
Darkness engulfed her into a pitch black world. She could hear wings beating violently and then a loud caw pierced her ears.

Mielo woke suddenly, legs thrashing and heart racing. The alarm clock next to her bed was blaring, repeatedly irritating her ears. She turned it off with more force than necessary and then slipped out of bed. Her heart was still racing and her legs felt shaky like she really had been running all night.  
The smell of eggs wafting upstairs from the kitchen tempted her out of her room. She stumbled down the stairs and found her mom, Stelo, standing at the counter holding a pan with sizzling eggs. Her brother was already seated at the kitchen table sipping orange juice.  
“Morning, mom,” Mielo said.  
“Mielo! You’re just in time for eggs.”  
Mielo sat down at the table across from her brother. He raised his hand slowly and then waved. In response, Mielo lifted both her hands slowly and did finger guns. That was the end of their conversation.  
“Here come the eggs! Briko, move your arms,” Mielo’s mom came over with two plates of eggs that she set down on the table. “Mielo, are you going to drink anything? We have orange juice.”  
“Don’t we have apple juice, too?” Mielo asked.  
“Maybe?” Mielo’s mom responded.  
“I can check,” Mielo said and got up to check the fridge.  
She pulled the door open and looked at the contents inside. Old cheese, a bag of lettuce, half empty milk, and a stick of butter. After pushing some things aside she found the apple juice in the very back. She poured herself a glass and then sat back down at the table.  
“So, first day of school! Aren’t you guys excited?” Mielo’s mom asked with way too much enthusiasm.  
“No,” Mielo and Briko both said at the same time.  
“Come on you two. Learning can be fun!” Stelo smiled. “Now, I do know school can make it seem not fun. They load you up with homework and make you study for tests, but don’t let that ruin learning for you!”  
“Oh it’s definitely ruined learning for me,” Briko said sarcastically.  
Stelo raised an eyebrow at him. Briko sighed.  
“But I guess this year is an opportunity to take back the fun in learning and not let school crush my hopes and dreams!” Briko smiled and gave a thumbs up to emphasize his point.  
“That’s the spirit!” Stelo clapped her hands.  
Mielo hurried to finish her eggs and chugged the rest of her apple juice. Once she was finished she hopped up and ran back to her room. She yanked off her pajamas and pulled on fresh clothes then ran to the bathroom. Mielo brushed her teeth carefully and flossed between each of them with precision. She rinsed her mouth and grabbed a towel to wash her face. After a desperate search through the bathroom for her comb, she combed out all her tangles and then put her hair up in a ponytail. At the last second she remembered deodorant.  
By the time she was ready Briko was already waiting for her at the front door. His car key was swinging from one of his claws and he was tapping his foot and dramatically checking the time on his phone.  
“I’m ready!” Mielo announced.  
“What took you so long? I was ready, like, way before you were.”  
“Unlike you I take my hygiene very seriously.”  
Briko snorted and walked out the door. Mielo followed him and hopped into the passenger seat of his car, her pointy ears scraping against the door when she got in.  
“Why did you have to get one of the low cars? Every single time I get in my ears scrape the top! You do know they make cars with taller roofs, right?”  
“It’s not my fault you have big ears.”  
“It’s not my fault you bought a stupid car.”  
Mielo pulled the seatbelt over her chest and snapped it into the buckle. Briko put the car in reverse and started slowly backing out of the driveway. Mielo looked behind her and checked both sides of the street.  
“There’s nobody coming. You can go faster,” Mielo pointed out.  
“I’m the one with the license. If you don’t like my driving then hurry up and get your own license.”  
Mielo couldn't argue with that so she angled her body toward the window. When Briko finally backed out of the driveway completely and they were driving down the street, Mielo watched the houses pass by. The varying house heights looked like waves as Briko’s car sped up and the details became blurs. Trees full of vivid red leaves flashed by the window. Now that school was starting and the season was changing they would be turning white soon.  
As they neared the school the road became much busier. High school students with their licenses honked at each other as they drove by, the pedestrians checked the road as they crossed, not trusting the high schoolers to be paying attention. Briko’s seemingly impossible slow pace became even slower when they entered the drop off line.  
A loud honk startled Mielo. She looked out the window and saw a hot pink truck driving past. Sticking out the window was a green-clawed hand.  
“Mal!” Mielo shouted even though she knew Mal couldn’t hear her. “Can’t this line move any faster? I’m not going to have time to talk to Mal before class starts!”  
“Maybe if you had hurried getting ready we would have gotten here sooner,” Briko said.  
Mielo ignored her brother again. Part of her knew he was right but she wasn’t planning on admitting that any time soon.  
When they finally pulled up in front of the school Mielo slid out of the car and swung her backpack over her shoulder.  
“I’ll pick you up after school. Be safe and do your work!”  
“You aren’t my mom,” Mielo said and slammed the car door shut.  
She stepped into the swarm of high schoolers entering the school. Backpacks nudged her, toes scraped her heels, and the occasional person walking backwards nearly knocked her over. Once in the school the crowd dispersed and Mielo could walk freely. So far she hadn’t seen Mal and every time she saw green she got excited and then was disappointed when it wasn’t Mal.  
“Turn around!”  
Mielo turned around and Mal was standing right behind her. She ran forward and pulled her friend into a hug.  
“You looked like a lost freshman. I was about to give you directions to your first period,” Mal said.  
“Jerk,” Mielo said and punched Mal’s arm lightly. “How was summer camp?”  
Mal groaned loudly and dragged their hands over their face.  
“It was the absolute worst! They wouldn’t let me use my phone ever. I tried to sneak it out to text you but they caught me and confiscated my phone! Everything went downhill after that. We had to sing, make paintings, hold hands, and all that other stereotypical summer camp stuff.”  
“Wow, that does sound terrible. It made you stronger though. Now you know how to survive in a world full of positivity and friendship!”  
“Next year I will force you to come with me and see how long you can take it,” Mal said.  
“No thanks!”  
“You’ll change your mind. Anyway, how was your summer?” Mal asked.  
“So boring! I didn’t go anywhere or do anything. My mom was constantly busy with work and my brother was always hanging out with his new girlfriend. The only good thing that came out of my summer is that I am now an expert in entertaining myself.”  
“Well, knowing we both had bummer summers makes me feel a little better,” Mal said.  
Mielo and Mal started walking down the hall together. She wasn’t sure what time it was but the bell would probably be ringing soon. The day before, Mal had texted Mielo a picture of their schedule and they didn’t have any classes together except for lunch. It was something to look forward to, but Mielo was still disappointed. She didn’t really know anybody else at school.  
Just as they walked by the gym the bell rang. Students came pouring out of the gym and the halls were suddenly alive with activity again.  
“What’s your first period?” Mal asked.  
“Math. On the other side of the school.”  
“You have math first period? That’s some seriously bad luck,” Mal laughed. “I guess you better get going so you aren’t late on the first day.”  
“I’ll see you at lunch!” Mielo waved goodbye and then made her way toward her class. From what Mielo had heard of Ms. Flava, the algebra teacher, she was strict. Getting on her bad side by being late on the first day was not how Mielo wanted to start her day. Luckily, she had a naturally fast pace of walking and sped past her classmates. As she walked down the hall she took a deep breath to smell all the fresh paper. The smell was only this good on the first day. Soon the halls would be filled by the smell of sweat, dirt, and smoke. Occasionally it would smell worse.  
Mielo made it to class seconds before the bell rang and sat down quickly. Ms. Flava was sitting at her desk, staring down her long nose at a paper in her hands. Everything about her oozed unhappiness and a general dislike for her job. The room was empty gray walls, desks in neat rows, and absolute silence.  
“Welcome to algebra. My name is Ms. Flava. First on the agenda is attendance. Stay silent until I call your name and when I call your name say here,” Ms. Flava spoke in a monotone voice with a harsh edge that hinted at a short temper.  
The teacher went down the list and Mielo zoned out for a little bit. She knew her name would be closer to the end so she didn’t expect to miss it. But then the teacher called out a name that caught Mielo’s attention.  
“Mensoganto?” Ms. Flava called out.  
“Here!”  
Mielo spun around in her seat and spotted Mensoganto sitting in the back of the room. Her thick red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing a white tank top with a long pink skirt. Heat rushed into Mielo’s face and she quickly looked away. When she walked in she’d been too focused on being on time that she hadn’t looked to see who was in her class. Now that Mielo knew of Mensoganto’s presence she couldn’t focus on anything. Her mind kept replaying the moment when she turned around and saw Mensoganto’s face.  
“Mielo!”  
Mielo blinked to focus her eyes and looked up. Ms. Flava was staring around the room with a deep frown.  
“Here!” Mielo’s voice cracked as she spoke.  
Ms. Flava stared her straight in the eye and her frown deepened. Mielo stared back for as long as she could until it became too uncomfortable. She looked down at the desk but she could still feel Ms. Flava’s eyes on her.  
“Remember to pay attention when I call your name. I do not want to have to repeat myself!” Ms. Flava’s voice was like a knife.  
Mielo squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her head to the desk. So much for not getting on the teacher’s bad side. Plus, she’d also made a fool of herself to the entire class. Her only hope now was that something more exciting would happen later in the day so people would forget about this moment.  
By third period her wish had come true. A freshman had thought it would be an absolutely brilliant idea to take out his laptop and blast country music at full volume. It was a resource period and nobody had any homework yet, but Mrs. Oro was a no nonsense teacher apparently.  
“Pomo, turn that off!”  
Mielo watched the freshman slam his laptop lid shut and look at the teacher with fearful eyes. Mrs. Oro walked over to Pomo’s desk and held her hand out. Pomo hesitated and then handed over his laptop.  
“I’m assuming you don’t need this for any homework since you have time to mess around like that.”  
Pomo didn’t answer and nervously scratched the back of his neck. The teacher went back to her desk with Pomo’s laptop in her hand. Around the room faces watched Pomo for a moment longer before turning back to their phones or books.  
Mielo went back to scrolling through photos on her camera roll. For the past thirty minutes, Mielo had been scrolling through memes until it got boring. Her camera roll wasn’t much more exciting, but she had nothing better to do. She almost looked forward to getting homework just so she could be busy. Random photos she took during the summer took up all the space on her phone. Pictures of flowers in the neighbor’s garden, a tree with the sun setting behind it, a bird pecking at the ground. All summer Mielo spent her days touring the neighborhood waiting for something exciting to happen. If nothing ever happened she just pretended something did. She even started her own flower garden in the backyard after being inspired by her neighbors. With no experience in gardening and her mom being at work all the time, Mielo had to figure it all out herself.  
Near the middle of summer she took progress photos of her flowers. Many of them never fully bloomed before they died so lots of the older photos are of shriveled brown stems. After more experience, she got better and more of the flowers actually bloomed even though their colors weren’t as vivid as they could have been. One flower stood out from the rest though. Mielo wasn’t sure how she did it, but it somehow turned out perfect. The petals were full and soft and the purple so bright it looked as if it was glowing. All the photos after that were just that one flower taken from different angles and in different lighting.  
Then a flash of red cut off Mielo’s train of thought and sent her heart racing. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused so hard on her phone that the edges of her vision started to blur. Across the room she could hear whispered voices and her curiosity won. She looked up and saw Mensoganto handing a pass to Mrs. Oro. Was Mensoganto supposed to be in this resource period? The possibility made Mielo feel lightheaded for a split second until her hopes were crushed.  
“Pomo, you’re needed down in the principal’s office,” Mrs. Oro said.  
This time though, while everybody was watching Pomo pack his stuff and leave, Mielo was watching Mensoganto. She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Mensoganto during math and she had also been way too afraid. Now was another chance. Her legs felt like boulders though and she couldn’t even think of how to start a conversation. Plus, Mielo realized, Mensoganto probably had other places to be and wouldn’t want to be bothered by a random classmate. Then Mielo realized she was still staring at Mensoganto and that Mensoganto was staring back.  
Mielo blinked and looked away quickly and then looked back at Mensoganto. Mensoganto smiled and gave a small wave and walked out of the room. Mielo’s heart stopped. Her brain was screaming at her to chase after Mensoganto but her whole body was paralyzed. She stayed in her seat and watched Mensoganto leave the room and listened to the echo of her footsteps fade away.  
The next ten minutes passed in a quick blur and Mielo almost didn’t hear the bell ring. If everybody else hadn’t made so much noise scrambling to leave the room she might’ve stayed there forever. She pulled the crumpled piece of paper with her schedule on it out of her pocket to double check which class she had next. AP biology.  
According to the room number it was just down the hall from her resource so she didn’t have that much of a walk. That was quite a relief after having to dash through the halls to get to every class on time. Mielo also really liked the science hall. The entire ceiling along the hallway was glass so the hallway was always lit with natural sunlight and it was the best smelling hall. On the very first day of school Mielo remembered thinking the science hall would smell the worst because of all the chemicals and science experiments, but it was actually the exact opposite. Somehow the teachers kept the hallway smelling suspiciously clean. Mal and Mielo had even come up with theories for how they did this. One theory that Mal had come up with was that the teachers hid scented candles in all the vents. They had no evidence to prove this, but they swore to figure out the truth before they graduated.  
Mr. Vivo, the biology teacher, was standing right outside his room with a stack of papers in his arms. A couple students entered the room before Mielo and as they entered Mr. Vivo handed each of them a piece of paper. Mielo hoped it wasn’t already homework and when it was her turn she saw that it was just some get to know you activity. She walked into the room and immediately noticed how spacious it was. In the front were the regular desks that every class has and then the room extended even further to where the lab tables were. Even the ceiling felt like it was a little higher than the other rooms.  
On the screen up front was a seating chart and Mielo had to peer at it closely for several minutes before she found herself. Her seat was in the second row against the right wall of the room, far away from Mr. Vivo’s desk. Mielo set her stuff down and then watched the rest of her classmates come into the room. Again, most of their faces were familiar until a girl with pale purple skin and short dark purple hair walked in. She walked in looking a little lost, looked at the screen, and relaxed when she saw her name. Mielo guessed she must be a new student.  
“Welcome to AP Biology, folks! I’m Mr. Vivo and over the course of this year we’re going to be learning all about life! Hopefully y'all were able to find your seats so I’ll take attendance to make sure we’re all in the right spot.”  
The enthusiasm radiating out of Mr. Vivo was quite a surprise for Mielo. He was probably the oldest teacher in the school and maybe even the oldest person on the planet. From experience, Mielo had come to the conclusion that old teachers meant mean teachers. Mr. Vivo was definitely an exception.  
While Mr. Vivo was taking attendance Mielo redeemed herself by announcing her presence the first time he called her name. The class was fairly small so it didn’t take long for Mr. Vivo to get through the entire list. Mielo counted fifteen people including herself.  
“Now that we have that over with we can get started with the fun stuff! You should have all gotten a paper from me when you walked into the room so raise your hand if you don’t have one. On the paper there are nine boxes and each box has one question. What you’ll be doing is answering the questions with your own answers and then going around the class and having your classmates write their answers underneath yours. Don’t forget to write your name when answering on another person’s paper!”  
Mielo picked up her pencil and read through the questions: What is your favorite color?, What is your favorite food?, What are your hobbies?, What did you do this summer?, blah blah blah. Mielo quickly scribbled down her answers: yellow, tomato soup, gardening, and nothing. Once she answered all nine questions she looked around to see if other people were moving around and sharing answers yet. There were a few people standing around so she walked over to them.  
“Hey, want to share answers?” Mielo asked Vinbero. They had met each other last year through Mal because Vinbero and Mal were good friends too.  
“Sure,” Vinbero handed their paper to Mielo and Mielo gave them hers.  
Mielo wrote her name and her favorite food and then gave the paper back to Vinbero. When Vinbero gave Mielo her paper back she scanned the room again. Everybody was already paired off. At least that’s what she thought until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw the new student behind her.  
“Want to swap papers?” The new student asked.  
“Yeah,” Mielo repeated the process of taking the paper and writing her name and answer. This time she wrote her favorite color. They swapped their papers back and the interaction was over.  
Mielo looked down at what the new student wrote and saw the name Sukero. Apparently Sukero went camping by the mountains during the summer. Camping reminded Mielo of Mal and for the billionth time in the past two months she wished her summer had been different. Thinking of all the fun everybody else had made her incredibly jealous. She shoved the thoughts out of her mind to finish filling out the paper.


	2. Bad School Day For Mielo :(

Chapter Two  
At last it was time for lunch. Mielo stood back as the crowd of students hurrying to get out blocked the door. Once everybody made their way out, Mielo was able to walk right through the door without having to squeeze past anybody. She hurried down the good-smelling science hall, down the stairs, and down to the front doors of the school.  
“Over here!” Mal stuck their arm up and waved. Vinbero was with them and smiled at Mielo.  
“What’s up?” Mielo asked as she approached them.  
“Where do you want to go for lunch today? I’m driving so we can go anywhere,” Mal said.  
“How about Batado’s? They’re only going to be open for a few more weeks,” Vinbero suggested.  
“Yes! I didn’t get to eat at Batado’s all summer! Is that okay with you, Mielo?” Mal asked.  
“Sure, I could totally go for a smoothie right now,” Mielo said. From Mal’s excitement she didn’t really think saying no was an option anyway.  
Batado’s was a small cafe only a few blocks from the school. During the summer it was a popular hangout spot for the high schoolers and a convenient place to eat during the first quarter of school. A few years ago the place was populated by “The Bad Kids” who used the spot to smoke and get high. After the manager reported them to the school and installed cameras it became a smoke-free zone where all the high schoolers could enjoy lunch.  
The three climbed into Mal’s obnoxiously bright truck with Mal in the driver’s seat, Vinbero in the passenger side, and Mielo in the back. Despite Mielo’s complaints about her brother’s painfully careful driving, she had even more complaints about Mal’s reckless driving. She’d lost track of how many times she told Mal to slow down or to watch out for red lights.  
Mal’s tires squealed on the pavement as they turned out of the student parking lot. Vinbero was hanging tightly onto the door handle and exchanged a shocked look with Mielo.  
“You guys want music?” Mal asked and then turned on the radio before either of them could respond. Loud rock music blasted from the speakers and Mal started head banging.  
Mielo and Vinbero took over the job of watching the road. Luckily, they only had to yell at Mal once when they were crossing an intersection and Mal didn’t see the pedestrians crossing the road.  
“I’m doubting how you earned your license,” Vinbero said. It was definitely something Mielo had been wondering for a long time too.  
“You too? Mielo is always telling me I drive like a drunk old man! I promise you I’ve never hit anyone or gotten pulled over by the cops,” Mal said.  
“Probably because I’m always in the car with you to warn you when you’re about to do something illegal!” Mielo pointed out.  
“That’s nonsense. Plus, you weren’t even there when I actually had to earn my license so...” Mal made a smug face at Mielo in the mirror.  
They pulled up to the small white brick building with a single picnic table in the front. So many people were already there that the line was spilling out the door. Batado’s didn’t have any indoor seating so once somebody got their food they left the building. There was the picnic table in the front and a park a block away with more picnic tables. Most people used to hang around the back of the building until the cameras were installed so now they all go to the park. Mal and Mielo had made the sidewalk behind Batado’s their hangout spot since it no longer reeked of cigarettes.  
“So, what are we all having?” Mal asked.  
Mielo was about to answer when she spotted Mensoganto coming out of Batado’s. Her hand twitched with the impulse to wave but she held back when she saw Sukero walk out right behind Mensoganto. Sukero’s hand was resting on Mensoganto’s shoulder and they turned to face each other. Mielo watched Sukero lean forward and say something to Mensoganto and Mensoganto laughed out loud and bent over, moving closer to Sukero.  
Mielo wanted to look away but her eyes were frozen in place. A heat was building in her stomach and spreading through her legs and arms. It was like her vision had blurred out everything except for where Sukero’s hand was still touching Mensoganto’s shoulder.  
“Yo? Are you still alive?” Mal snapped their claws in Mielo’s face.  
“What?” Mielo asked.  
“You totally spaced out for a moment. Did you receive a vision of the future or something?”  
“No, sorry, I just got distracted,” Mielo forced herself to not look back at Mensoganto and Sukero.  
The line moved quickly and soon enough Mal, Vinbero, and Mielo were ordering. All three of them got the famous strawberry smoothie which was famous for its bright red color and its perfect strawberry flavor. Plus, the strawberry smoothie was cheaper than the other smoothies during the final weeks of summer to celebrate the leaves changing color. For reasons Mielo couldn’t begin to understand, Mal never got an actual meal during lunch. Usually Mal just got a drink and a side like cookies, fries, or chips. Mielo always got food because she was starving by lunch. She got a turkey sandwich with chips. Vinbero got a ham sandwich.  
“Is their ham sandwich any good?” Mielo asked Vinbero.  
“Of course! You’ve never had it?” Vinbero looked at Mielo with an extremely baffled expression.  
“Nope, I never bothered because I love the turkey sandwich.”  
“Well, you have to try the ham sandwich before Batado’s closes for the season.”  
They exited the small building and walked around to the back where they sat down on the curb. The heat of the sun hit Mielo’s exposed neck and she pressed her hand that was cold from holding her smoothie against her neck.  
“I can’t wait for fall. This heat is really starting to get on my nerves,” Mielo said.  
“I enjoy this heat. In the winter I have to cover my cool outfits with coats and jackets,” Mal complained.  
“Just buy some cool coats or something. Or just be cold,” Vinbero suggested.  
“That is such a great idea, Vin. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that sooner!” Mal said sarcastically. “Anyway, you two should come to Pingveno’s party this weekend. My band is going to be playing there!”  
“Really? That’s awesome!” Vinbero said. “I’m not one for parties but I’ll come to support your band.”  
Mal turned a pleading look at Mielo. Mielo’s first instinct was to say no, but she didn’t have any excuse not to go and she didn’t want to disappoint Mal. And she didn’t know how to say no when Mal was making that face.  
“Fine, I’ll go. But don’t expect me to stay the whole time!” Mielo warned.  
“Thank you!” Mal squeezed both of them into a group hug.

The rest of the day passed in an uneventful blur that left Mielo exhausted by the time her brother picked her up. She was sitting outside on a bench by the front doors when he pulled into the parking lot and honked. Mielo hoped he saw her roll her eyes at him.  
“You didn’t need to honk. I already knew you were there,” Mielo said as she got in his car.  
“I was just making sure! I didn’t want to have to sit and wait for you to notice me,” Briko said with a mischievous smile on his face. “So, how was your day? Give me all the juicy details!”  
“It was boring,” Mielo replied shortly.  
“Surely something happened! How is Mal? Did they have fun at that summer camp?”  
“Nope, they said it sucked,” Mielo said.  
“Did you see Mensoganto?” Briko asked.  
“Yeah.”  
“Are you going to tell me anything more about that?”  
“No.”  
The rest of the drive home was in silence. Now that Mielo was away from school and had no noisy distractions she had nothing to take her mind off what she saw at lunch. How did Mensoganto meet Sukero? Why was she laughing so much at whatever Sukero said? Why did Sukero stay so close to her? Were they flirting?  
“Did you meet any new people?” Briko broke the silence when they pulled into the driveway.  
This pushed Mielo over the edge and she left the car, slamming the door behind her without answering her brother. Her footsteps echoed through the empty house as she stomped up the stairs and into her room where she slammed her door again. She collapsed onto her bed, hugging her pillow against her chest and muffling her crying. She wished her mother was there to comfort her and hold her, she wished she hadn’t been rude to her brother so that he’d come upstairs and tell her a story to distract her, and she wished her father was there. But she always wished her father was there and thinking of it now only made her cry harder.  
More than anything though, she wished she didn’t care so much. Ever since high school started and she first saw Mensoganto she’d been hopelessly pining. At first it had been fun. Whenever she saw Mensoganto her stomach would fill with butterflies, she’d blush, and her legs would get wobbly. Mal would tease her and give her pep talks about making a move. Two years later though nothing had changed and the fun had long since disappeared. All that was left was butterflies and heartache. Mielo didn’t even know if Mensoganto liked girls. As far as she knew Mensoganto had never dated anyone.  
All the same thoughts that had been haunting Mielo for the past two years circled in her mind until she fell asleep with tears staining her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Mielo woke to darkness. For a moment she didn’t know where she was until her eyes adjusted to the dark. She was in her room with all the lights off and it was apparently night judging by the lack of sunlight coming through the window. Downstairs she could hear footsteps, metal clanking against metal, and doors opening and closing. Then the smell of food reached her nose and she crawled out of bed.  
Her hair was a tangled mess and her cheeks still felt sticky from crying but she didn’t bother to clean up. She stepped carefully down each step, feeling drowsy and half asleep from her nap.   
“Woah, you look like garbage!” Briko exclaimed loudly and very rudely.  
“Briko!” Stelo snapped and then softened when she turned to Mielo. “Honey, are you okay? Did your first day back suck?”  
“Something like that, yeah. And I’m fine,” Mielo lied.  
“The first day back is always hard. I’m sure tomorrow will be a lot better,” Stelo said.  
“Yeah, probably,” Mielo said, not believing that at all.   
Not wanting to continue any conversation, Mielo busied herself with setting the table. She set out the plates, knives, forks, spoons, cups, and napkins. When she finished that she even offered to get everybody their drinks. Mielo opened the fridge and used the door to shield her face as the pain threatened to take over again. She took a deep breath, pushed it down, and poured the drinks. By the time she sat down her emotions had been firmly pushed away into the deepest part of her mind.   
“Pingveno is throwing a party this weekend. Mal wants me to come because their band is going to be playing there. Is that okay?” Mielo asked.  
“Of course you can go! But if any kids start misbehaving I want you out of there and back home immediately,” Stelo said.  
“I wasn’t planning on staying the whole time anyway. After Mal performs I was going to leave.”  
“Don’t you want to stay and socialize with your friends?” Stelo looked at Mielo with motherly concern.   
“They’re just my classmates, mom. Just because I go to school with them doesn’t mean I have to like them or spend time with them.”  
“Well then maybe you could make some new friends at this party? What’s the name of the girl hosting it? You could get to know her!”   
Mielo shoved rice in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to respond. She didn’t know how to explain to her mom that even though plenty of her classmates seemed like really nice people she didn’t feel the need to be friends with any of them. She had Mal and she was sort of friends with Vinbero and that was enough. Having a bunch of friends just sounded like too much work. Caring about a bunch of people was just too emotionally and physically draining. Two was enough.  
Briko sat there in unhelpful silence. Mielo stared at him to telepathically communicate that he needed to say something to break the awkward silence because she didn’t know how. To her great disappointment though, Briko was too focused on eating his dinner and wouldn’t look up from his plate. Mielo turned her attention to her own food and stubbornly refused to look at her mother who she knew was still looking at her, waiting for a response. She wasn’t going to get one.  
Finally, Briko became aware of the uncomfortably long silence and took a long, loud sip of his drink and said, “I have a story!”   
Mielo listened to her brother’s story of the pop quiz he had to take in AP chemistry. Some teachers did not waste any time. She continued listening in horror to Briko as he described his total confusion during the quiz and then laughed when he concluded with finding out the quiz was not for a grade.   
“She didn’t even tell us it wasn’t a grade until after we all finished it! The whole class got stressed for nothing.”  
“If you hadn’t been stressed would you have tried as hard?” Stelo asked.  
“Probably not, but it is still super not cool of her to do that on the very first day of school!”  
Mielo finished the last of her rice and stood abruptly to leave the kitchen.   
“Where do you think you’re going?” Stelo asked.  
“To the garden,” Mielo said.  
“Not before you clean up your mess!”  
Mielo stacked her silverware and cup on her plate and carried them over to the sink where she rinsed them off. She walked quickly out of the kitchen before her mom could stop her again. The hallway from the kitchen to the back door was narrow and dark so when she reached the door she had to feel around until she successfully found the door knob. The door swung open and she stepped onto the soft, green grass.   
Their backyard was surrounded by a tall, dark brown fence that blocked her view of the neighbors’ yards entirely. Across the yard the fence had a gate that opened to the woods behind Mielo’s house. That was where she put her garden. It was right up against the fence on the other side where nobody could see it. She had been self conscious at first when she wasn’t sure if she’d be any good so she had put it where she hoped her family wouldn’t hide it. As far as she knew neither her mom or brother went into the woods.   
The sun was setting and the light was fading quickly but she could still see her flowers clearly. Her garden was made of a variety of flowers that she had arranged to make a rainbow. Some of the flowers were starting to look a little dry so she splashed some water onto them. To Mielo’s great disappointment, even her perfect purple flower was looking a bit sick. Obviously she knew it couldn’t last forever, but she wished it could last a little longer.   
Mielo sat down on the bricks she had placed around the garden and faced the woods. The trees were glowing orange from the setting sun and the red leaves looked like they were on fire. Deeper in the woods she could see the rise of the hill she had spent some of her summer climbing up. She knew that at the very top there were very few trees and on the other side was a seemingly endless field.   
Suddenly she had a vivid flashback to her dream which she had forgotten about for most of the day. Now the images came flooding back in. She remembered running through the trees and standing at the top of the hill and watching a crow fly over the town. Mielo suddenly felt an irresistible urge to climb up the hill, but it was dark in the woods and she knew her mom would be furious. Mielo stood up and took a step toward the trees and then forced herself to turn around. Going back into her house felt like the most impossible task, but Mielo promised herself she would save time to climb the hill tomorrow.   
“I was just about to call you inside. Don’t forget that you need to be going to sleep earlier now that school has started,” Mielo’s mom reminded her.  
“I just wanted to check up on my flowers.”  
“Oh? How are they doing?”  
“Fine, but they’re starting to look dry. I think it’s because the season is changing soon.”  
“That’s a shame. You’ll be able to grow them again in the spring though!”  
Mielo decided that was the end of the conversation and went upstairs to her room. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth, but she didn’t get in her bed. Her brain was still buzzing and her nap earlier was not helping. Instead of attempting to sleep, Mielo pulled her notebook out of her backpack and started sketching her dream from last night. She drew herself standing upon the hill with her town spread out beneath her and the crow’s shadow looming over the buildings. In her dream the crow had been taking her somewhere, but she had woken up before she could find out.   
A powerful longing to find out where the crow had been taking her overcame Mielo. She stared at her quick, messy sketch and traced her finger along the path the crow had flown. If only she could fall asleep and have the dream again, starting where she left off so maybe she would find out where the crow was going. But Mielo knew that would not happen. The dream had come and gone and she knew tonight would be a new dream if she even dreamed at all.   
A yawn interrupted Mielo’s thoughts. She left the notebook on her bed when she got up to turn off the lights. With the lights off a wave of tiredness washed over Mielo. She pushed her notebook aside and pulled her blankets over herself. Warmth seeped into her bones and she drifted off to sleep. 

Mielo opened her eyes and stared up at her ceiling. At first she didn’t notice the strange purple glow in her room. She blinked a few times to see if it would go away. When it didn’t she sat up and looked around. There didn’t seem to be one spot where the light was coming from. The glow was coming from everywhere. A tap came from her window.  
Perched on the ledge outside was a crow. The crow stretched its neck out and tapped the window again with its beak. Mielo jumped out of her bed and ran to the window. The crow startled and leaped off the ledge. In an act of desperation, Mielo flung open the window and jumped out. The fall was quick and painless. Somehow she landed with both feet on the ground, completely unharmed. Mielo didn’t stop to wonder about this. She chased after the crow.  
The shadowy bird flew quickly above the obstacles that Mielo had to jump over or run around to avoid. Again, she was falling behind as the bird became smaller and smaller in the distance.  
“Stupid bird! If you want to take me somewhere then slow down so I can follow! I don’t have wings!” Mielo shouted.  
The crow paused in the sky, flew in a wide circle around Mielo, and landed on the roof of a house two blocks away. Mielo hesitated with confusion and then ran up to the crow. When she reached the house it flew a few more blocks down and landed on another roof. It stayed there until Mielo caught up and then it flew off again. Had the crow understood her?  
After this process continued until they had reached the edge of the neighborhood Mielo stood panting in the middle of the road. Instead of taking off immediately, the crow sat upon the roof and watched Mielo with its shiny, black eyes. Mielo looked up at the crow when she caught her breath. The crow spread its wings and took off. Fast as lightning, the crow vanished into the forest. A flash of light blinded Mielo and she collapsed.

This time when Mielo opened her eyes it was completely dark. Her hand fumbled around on the table next to her bed until she found her phone. When she clicked it on she squinted through the light to read the time. Six in the morning. She wouldn’t have time to go back to sleep. Mielo groaned and crawled out of her bed.  
Opening the curtains covering her window, she saw a hint of orange light on the horizon. She left the curtain open and left her room. The stairs creaked as she walked down them and it seemed to echo through the quiet of the house. Mielo flicked the light on in the kitchen and blinked rapidly until her eyes adjusted. In the pantry she found cereal and poured it into a bowl and then added milk. Mielo never put the milk in first before the cereal.  
Mielo sat down at the table by herself eating the cereal. Besides her crunching the only other sound was the tapping of the spoon against the bowl. Occasionally the house would creak. Even knowing that it was just because the house was old it still unsettled her sometimes. Especially when it’s dark and she’s alone. A tap came from the window and Mielo’s eyes darted up.  
Of course she was expecting to see a crow, but it was just a branch swaying in the breeze and hitting the window. Mielo looked back down and swirled her spoon in the milk, bouncing her foot and shaking the table.   
After she finished her bowl of cereal she rinsed the bowl and left it in the sink. While she was at the sink she peeked out the window again to check the progress of the sun. It was now halfway above the horizon, lighting up that side of the sky with shades of red, orange, yellow, and hints of pink.   
“Boo!”  
Mielo slammed her hands down on the counter and whirled around. Panic blurred her vision for a moment. She couldn’t recognize the red blur in front of her until her vision cleared and she realized it was her brother.  
“Briko, what the heck!” Mielo slapped her brother on the arm. Her heart was still pounding in her chest.  
“Ow!” Briko flinched away and grabbed his arm. “You’re up early.”  
“Had a bad dream. Not really any point going back to sleep at six anyway,” Mielo said.  
“Oh no! You had a bad dream? Do you need me to get mom to tell you a bedtime story to calm your mind and put you to sleep?” Briko teased.  
“Shut up. I’ve already had breakfast so I’m going to get dressed and leave,” Mielo said.  
“Where are you going? School doesn’t start for over an hour.”  
“For a walk. I won’t do anything stupid,” Mielo promised.  
“As your older brother I don’t think I can let you go without knowing where exactly you will be.”  
“Again, you’re not my mom! I promise I won’t get into any stranger’s van.”  
“Fine, but call me when school starts so I know you made it there safely.”  
“Okay, fine,” Mielo said and ran upstairs.  
She got dressed hurriedly, swung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her phone, and slipped out the front door. The street was black besides the occasional street light casting an orange glow onto the pavement. In a few houses there were lights on and silhouettes moving behind curtains.   
Mielo walked down the sidewalk until she reached the end of her block. If she kept walking straight she would eventually reach the school, but that wasn’t where she was going. She turned left and kept walking until she reached the trail that went into the forest. Her brother would definitely not be happy if he knew this was where she was going. Mielo would worry about that later if he ever found out.   
The forest was completely dark. Standing at the edge of the trees and looking into the darkness felt like looking into a void. Mielo gripped the straps of her backpack tightly and stepped into the trees. Fear immediately took hold of her. Her heart was pounding against her ribs. Twigs and leaves snapped under her feet, but her brain kept telling her the noises were coming from behind her. More than anything she wanted to run and reach the hill so she could escape the trees. It was so dark though and if she tripped and hurt herself nobody would know where to find her.  
Mielo slowed down and stretched out her arms until she felt a tree. She walked around it and pressed her back against it. Now that she wasn’t walking she felt silly for thinking something had been following her. The snapping sounds really had been her own feet. A frog croaked loudly right behind her and startled her into walking again. After a few more minutes of stumbling through the darkness, Mielo wondered if she had made a wrong turn and gotten lost. Right when she was about to panic she realized there was a faint light. She could see the hill just ahead of her. Mielo ran until she burst out of the trees and onto the grassy hill. The sky was a pale blue with already fading stars.   
When she climbed to the top of the hill Mielo she turned in circles to look around. There was nothing out of the ordinary or unusual. Mielo slumped forward and groaned. She didn’t know what she’d been hoping to find exactly, but she had been hoping for more than nothing.   
The sun shone through the trees. Mielo squinted her eyes against the light and plodded back down the hill. Finding her way out of the forest was easier than finding her way in with the sun higher in the sky. It wasn’t long until she found the trail where she had entered the forest.  
The neighborhood was more alive with activity. Lights were on in most houses at this point, cars and school buses sped across the street, pedestrians strolled down the sidewalk. Mielo brushed leaves from her hair before stepping out onto the sidewalk. At the moment her foot touched the cement a loud honk startled her. Mielo was getting sick of abrupt noises.  
“And where exactly did you go on your walk?”  
Of course Briko was driving by right when she came out of the forest.  
“Does it matter? I’m still alive.”  
“Yes, it matters! Were you seriously in the forest when it was still dark?”  
“What if I was?” Mielo asked, raising her voice.  
“Do you have no idea how stupid you sound right now? You could have gotten hurt!” Briko shouted.  
“Yeah, well, I didn’t.”  
“What do you think Mom would say if she knew?”  
“Mom doesn’t know because she doesn’t check in often enough and if she did know she would be too busy to actually care!”  
“That’s why I care!”   
Mielo flinched at his words. She was being unreasonable and harsh, but she was angry and tired and couldn’t control her temper.  
“Get in the car,” Briko said with a sigh.  
Mielo looked at him with surprise.  
“You have no idea how much I want to make you walk yourself to school, but I also don’t trust you to not wander off somewhere else.”  
Guilt gnawed at Mielo’s stomach as she climbed into the passenger seat. The feeling only grew stronger as Briko neared the school, but Mielo was still too angry and stubborn to apologize. Briko was silent the whole way and Mielo didn’t dare to speak. Hot tears threatened to burst from Mielo’s eyes by the time they reached the school. Briko dropped her off and drove away to park without saying goodbye. Mielo stood still for a split second on the side of the road until she snapped out of her thoughts and walked into the school. When the smell of paper and sweat suffocated her nostrils she wondered how day two would be worse than day one.


End file.
